Constraints to improved productivity of smallholder cow-calf systems in South Central Coast Vietnam – insights from recent surveys

Growth in demand for beef in Vietnam has resulted in historically high prices for cattle, especially crossbred stock, across most age/size classes. Despite increasing live cattle imports, a significant proportion of cattle are still sourced from smallholders, especially for regional markets. Smallholder cattle producers have benefited from this rising demand for cattle. However, they face many challenges in order to meet the continuity of supply and product consistency and quality increasingly demanded by the market. In South Central Coastal (SCC) Vietnam, smallholder cattle production has traditionally relied on extensive grazing supplemented by crop by-products like rice straw. Decreasing access to common grazing land has exacerbated existing cattle nutrition and husbandry issues, contributing to long calving to conception intervals (CCI) and irregular calving, making it difficult for smallholders to coordinate calving with optimum seasonal feed supply. This paper examines results from two recently surveyed South Central Coastal Vietnam smallholder cow-calf producer communities which exhibited significantly different (P<0.001) CCIs. The survey found that the main contributor to CCI length was the interval between calving next heat detection (CNHDI) rather than number of inseminations before conception. Preliminary survey results indicated no significant correlation between CCI and key resource and production variables associated with cow-calf systems examined, despite there being significant (P<0.005)between-commune differences for many of these. The paper also considers the implications of these findings for future research into CCI related issues.